3. TIL L Ron Hubbard’s first wife once discovered two love letters the Scientolog...

TIL L Ron Hubbard’s first wife once discovered two love letters the Scientology founder had written, to two different women, in the couple’s outgoing mail. She switched the envelopes and sent them.

You're really overestimating how much of Scientology (or dianetics) was based on science fiction. I don't think the creation stuff that everyone laughs at was even thought up until like 25 years after the movement (idk what to call it at it's inception) started and you aren't supposed to learn about it until you're decently far onto the path. I can't speak for those who follow it now, but back then, it was general self-help and it supposedly worked for some. The often overlooked fact is that for some, dianetics is effective. That fact mixed with the fact that you're not supposed to learn the more crazy stuff until you're pretty far in the program (a few years and thousands of dollars) make for an effective way to get people to bend their beliefs.

"Whether or not he is a science fiction writer doesn't matter if what he teaches works. he's proven himself valid for this long, he probably knows what he's talking about" is the kind of reasoning I'm trying to get at.

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